User Reviews

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by
CoolbeaN
a Audio Enthusiast

Date Reviewed: November 27, 2004

Bottom Line:

I purchased this receiver 3 years ago. I have it mated up with Paradigm Atoms, CC170, ADP70s, and PDR8. The sound quality is wonderful. This receiver does a great job of not coloring the music. Some people prefer the warmer sound of Denon, HK, and Marantz, but i like to hear exactly what is recorded. Even at extreme volumes only a limited amount of distortion is heard.

I also use the Headphone jack with a pair of Grado Labs SR-125s. I have to say I am not too impressed with the quality out of the headphone jack, it seems too harsh. The same headhpones plugged into my friends Marantz or the Linn headphone amp and the shop where i purchased my equipment sound so much better.
About a year ago I did have a problem where the first 1/2 hour the amp was on some relay inside would click randomly, No distortion was heard and it wasn't switching modes and the fan wasn't turning on so I can't fathom what the relay was controling. Also the left channel on the headphone jack would be dead unless the volume was turned way up. then it would pop and come on and you could turn the volume down but there was still distortion in that channel. Obviously a short some where.
Theese problems continued for approx 4 months, just as I was about to give in and have it repaired the problems mysteriously went away and it now works as well as it ever has.

Well the T751 with the right front and rear channel problems has since been replaced with a T752. After hooking it up THE LEFT REAR CHANNEL DOESNT WORK!!!! There is a crackling destorted sound that comes out in all surround modes. For to many reasons to explain it is not the other equiptment. The company has absolutely, positively the worst built quality imaginable!

I purchased this unit because NAD has a nice sound for the price. I cant say so much for the built quality though. I started having problems with it about 8 months after purchase. The right channel had a static effect coming out of it, so I sent it back under warranty. Shortly afer getting it back the right channel started cutting out so I shipped it out of warranty. Shortly after getting it back the right channel and the right rear surround started cutting in and out, so again shipped out of warranty(see a pattern?). Shortly after getting it back the rear right channel started cutting out, I contacted NAD and never heard back from them. So to make a long story short I "gave" the receiver away and bought a Denon 3803 which I am overly pleased with the sound and built quality. I will never buy NAD again. I Also have a NAD T550 DVD player with which I'm having the lip sync problems discribed in those posts.

I bought a NAD T752 about 6 months ago having read many of the NAD reviews on this site and also sound testing other similar receives:
- Yamaha
- Denon
- Bose (not really similar but in the same category)

I chose the NAD on the basis of sound quality and features. Probably you can get more features from Yamaha but the T752 has as many features as you need and is a massive improvement on the T751. The interface is easy to use at the remote is good.

The sound is excellent, very warm sounding and combined with the KEF 2005 speakers is an excellent package for a home surround sound system that doesn't take over the room.

True to NAD form, however, I had a problem with the receiver within weeks of purchasing it and back to the shop it went. 5 weeks and one nasty letter to NAD latter I got the receiver back and it has worked like a dream ever since. Occasionally it doesn't automatically pick up a surround sound track DVD properly but this could be disk and not the reciever.

I must say I have been very impressed by the sound quality and the sturdiness of the unit. It weighs a ton.

I must admit that I do find the cooling fan annoying - it comes on and off as needed and is loud enought for my wife to say "what's that noise" whenever it comes on (yes, it does have lots of ventilation).

On the whole I am happy with my purchase and I am glad I didn't go Yamaha (sound was just a bit to sharp - tiring on the ears). The Denon is good but the comparable model lacked the features and was not as simple to use as the NAD.

Finally, NAD has their own surround processor for stereo CDs. It is called EARS. Despite the fact that Dolby now has prologic II I generally select the EARS option as I find it less 'manipulated'.

I'm actually just plugging here for the NAD 752 since this site is a little slow, (months) getting new equipment up.

It's a frustrating experience trying to get a good home theater and a great sounding pre-amp/amp combination for music listening into one box. If you are mostly into home theater some other receivers like Denon/Yamaha may appeal to you because of the variety of tweaking and features you can do. I do not consider NAD to be at the forefront in these areas. I do consider them way ahead of the game in sound quality and musicality. NAD certainly has it's own way of coloring the sound, as all pre-amp/amp's do. It's just that there is more information and better balance across the spectrum with the NAD. (Be careful when looking at the power ratings of receivers. Very deceiving). The NAD has a modest power rating of 80watts per channel. The difference is in the reserve power and the quality of their preamp. My Sony 333es receiver could get as loud as this one. Maybe a little louder. It just didn't sound as smooth. You felt very fatigued after listening to the Sony es. This one gets loud but keeps power in reserve so when your listening material needs extra punch, it's all there. Very different approach.

I have searched and searched for a new A/V receiver. I have auditioned Rotel/NAD/Yamaha/Sonyes/Integra/Adcom/B&K/and countless others. My search ended with NAD. for 1k and less this receiver is hard to beat. I owned a Sony STR-DA333ES for about a year. Great features but when I upgraded my speakers to the PSB Stratus series the Sony es was falling very short in the musicality area. The stratus require a bit more power being 4ohm speakers. The ES was sounding very thin and weak. That started my hunt for the best receiver under $1k. Since I listen to a lot of SACD music, the sound of the receiver was very important to me. I do about 50/50% home theater and music listening.

If your going for the most musical amp under 1k, I strongly recommend listening to this amp with some good speakers before buying anything else. I feel if you are able to get into separates that Rotel and others may be a better way to go. But, your also getting into the $2k plus category. If you want it all in one box, stop here.

You will find more features on others like Denon/Sony es/Yamaha. So, if features and tweaking are important this amp may not be the one. If the sound is top priority, take a listen.

Obviously you can do better if your 100% into music. If your trying to marry both worlds in one box under 1k, this is it.